Slow Fashion: Wearing Our Values, One Stitch at a Time”

Sriranga VN
Jul 23, 2025
2 min read

🧵 Slow Fashion: A Gentle Revolution from the Soil Up

At Srirangavn and EarthUps, we often say — true sustainability begins not in the factory, but in the field. And nowhere is this more evident than in the quiet, powerful movement called Slow Fashion.

What Is Slow Fashion?

Slow fashion isn’t just about clothes. It’s about conscious choices.

It’s about tracing your cotton shirt back to the soil it grew in… the hands that harvested it… the dye that colored it… and the artisan who stitched it with quiet dignity.

It’s the opposite of fast fashion — which thrives on overproduction, synthetic fabrics, and planned obsolescence. Slow fashion, on the other hand, is rooted in:

🌾 Natural fibres: cotton, khadi, jute, banana fibre, and wool from ethical sources
🧶 Handloom and heritage weaving
🧵 Repairs, rewearing, and reimagining old clothes
🪡 Support for artisans, local tailors, and self-help collectives

Why It Matters

Every time we buy fast fashion, we pay for it twice — once at the checkout, and again through the environmental cost: water pollution, microplastics, and textile waste that takes centuries to decompose.

In contrast, slow fashion:

Keeps toxic dyes out of our rivers
Reduces carbon footprints by miles
Revives craft communities and gives dignity to makers
Invites us to buy less, choose well, and wear longer

A Village View: Our Way at EarthUps

Here on our farm, old lungis become cushion covers, sarees turn into curtains, and mended kurtas carry stories. Clothes are lived in, not just worn.

We source fabrics from small weavers, local cooperatives, and khadi stores. We teach children (and grownups!) the joy of darning, hand-sewing, and colour patching — not because it's trendy, but because it's right.